Social Innovation Lab

2018IMPACT REPORT

2019 IMPACT REPORT

CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

» Focused our curriculum more intensively on customer discovery

methodologies, using The National Science Foundation’s Innovation

Corps (I-Corps) short course and challenging all participants to

“get out of the building” to conduct over 40 stakeholder interviews

each.

» Grew our partnership with the JHU Carey Business School to

provide consulting support to our innovators with the Business of

Social Innovation student fellowship.

» Supported idea-stage innovators with our Impact Bootcamp in

partnership with the Baltimore Corps’ Elevation Awards and OSI

Baltimore Community Fellowships teams.

» Introduced principles of Human-Centered Design into our

programming by hosting Social Design Fellows from MICA’s Center

for Social Design and launching a new social design bootcamp for

cohort participants.

» With the support of the Abell Foundation, awarded year-end

Cohort Prizes to Happy Teacher Revolution and Fight Blight Bmore,

selected by their peers for their progress during the cohort,

potential for impact and plan for the future.

FROM THE DIRECTOR OUR IMPACTCONTENTS

p1. OUR IMPACT

p2. ABOUT THE SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB

p3. THE COHORT PROGRAM

p4. OUR VENTURES IN THE NEWS

p5. 2018-19 COHORT: FACTS & FIGURES

p6. 2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

p16. IMPACT BOOTCAMPS 2018-19

p17. IMPACT+INNOVATION FORUM

p18. ALUMNI VENTURES IN ACTION

p19. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

p20. CONNECT WITH US

ventures.jhu.edu/sil

I’m excited to share in the following pages more information about SIL’s impacts over the last

year, and I invite you to get in touch with our ventures or with me directly if you have ideas or

suggestions to help us advance our mission and build lasting social change here in Baltimore

and beyond.

Sincerely,

Alex Riehm, Director

alriehm@jhu.edu

G reetings. During the 2018-19 program year, the Social Innovation Lab had the privilege

to support 10 talented social ventures that are working to improve Baltimore and the

world. In the last year, we have been able to improve our core, six-month accelerator

program while building on experiences and strengths from prior years. This year, The Social

Innovation Lab: 83 Ventures supported by SIL since 2011

$46M Funding secured by SIL ventures1

217 Individuals currently employed in full-time roles by SIL ventures2

498Individuals trained via our Bootcamps since 2011

463Hours of mentorship and coaching provided to the 2018-19 Cohort

88%Venture leaders finding SIL helpful or instrumental in their success3

1 Figure accounts for all funding types including grants, investments, pledges, etc.; cumulative2 Figure accounts for currently active SIL alumni ventures, self-reported active full-time employees3 Based on 2019 survey responses of SIL alumni

1SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

ABOUT THE SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB THE COHORT PROGRAM

The Social Innovation Lab’s core program continues the culture our original student founders began in 2011: a mutually-supportive

environment where people come together to address the world’s greatest challenges. Our cohort-based learning model offers a

six-month program where innovators and entrepreneurs support each other on their pathway to scale. In October, SIL conducts a

competitive application process where Baltimore-area residents and JHU students, faculty and staff can apply to seek support for their social

venture. SIL is looking for talented teams and individuals with innovative ideas that have the potential to sustainably deliver social impact. Last

year was our most competitive ever, with 109 applications submitted.

SIL’S CURRICULUM FEATURES THREE HALLMARK ELEMENTS:

1. Define and meet critical milestones to advance the venture

2. Conduct a rigorous customer discovery process to refine its unique value proposition

3. Connect and collaborate with other entrepreneurs in a mutually-supportive, cohort-based learning model

VENTURES IN THE COHORT RECEIVE:

» $1,000 in non-dilutive seed funding, plus up to $2,880 in additional support to conduct customer discovery and prototyping objectives

» The potential to receive additional funding up to $25,000 via our peer-selected Cohort Prize

» Mentorship and access to an extensive network of advisors

» One-on-one coaching and intensive support from the SIL director

» Learning sessions and retreats where participants learn from experienced entrepreneurs and social sector leaders

» Access to co-working and meeting space, including FastForward U’s new 10,000-square-foot student innovation hub

» Other critical forms of support and assistance as needed, including graphic design and strategic communications, pro bono legal, tax and

accounting and banking support

» Opportunities to pitch potential funders and supporters at SIL events, including the annual Impact+Innovation Forum

The Social Innovation Lab (SIL) at Johns Hopkins University accelerates emerging ventures and leaders that seek to change Baltimore and the world. SIL provides the funding, mentorship, office space and

workshops that help these innovative nonprofits, mission-driven companies and disruptive technologies develop into thriving, sustainable ventures that make a measurable impact.

THE SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB:

1. Supports Baltimore-area innovators, providing individuals and teams with tools to turn their ideas into sustainable social ventures

2. Catalyzes the Baltimore-area innovation ecosystem, ensuring inclusive pathways for social innovators to turn their ideas into reality

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS3

2019 IMPACT REPORT

ALUMNI UPDATECHRISTIAN DE PACO (LEFT) AND J.J

REIDY (RIGHT) WITH URBAN PASTORAL HAVE

CREATED 208 LOCAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES

In addition to supporting over 800 students

annually at Public Charter School Green Street

Academy (GSA) with 21st Century job skills,

SIL Alumni Urban Pastoral led by Christian

De Paco and J.J. Reidy have created

numerous jobs at their Stall 11 and

Molina restaurants in R.

House.

ALUMNI UPDATEEMILY THOMPSON (PIVOT, SIL 2018),

BRITTANY YOUNG (B-360 BALTIMORE,

SIL 2017), AND AVA PIPITONE (HOSTHOME,

SIL 2018) WIN OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE –

BALTIMORE COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIPS

Congratulations to alums Brittany, Emily, and

Ava for winning the prestigious OSI Baltimore

Community Fellowships, which provides

full-time salary and benefits to

continue building their social

ventures.

2

SIL VENTURES IN THE NEWS 2018-19 COHORT: FACTS & FIGURES

SIL COHORT VENTURES IN THE PRESS

Brittany Young of B-360 in The Baltimore Sun and CBS News

https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider-blog/bs-fe-stem-dirt-bikes-20181129-story.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-a-former-teacher-uses-dirt-bikes-to-inspire-young-students/

Danna Thomas and Nneka N’namdi’s Cohort Prize announcement in Technical.ly

https://technical.ly/baltimore/2019/05/01/johns-hopkins-social-innovation-lab-awards-25k-startups/

Happy Teacher Revolution was profiled in the Johns Hopkins Magazine, Spring 2019

https://hub.jhu.edu/magazine/2019/spring/happy-teacher-revolution-stress-trauma/

SIL 2017-2018 alum Ava Pipitone and HostHome was featured in Technical.ly

https://technical.ly/baltimore/2019/03/28/this-baltimore-social-enterprise-is-building-a-housing-platform-to-reduce-homelessness/

Ana Rodney’s and Nneka N’namdi’s profiles in Baltimore Magazine

https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/health/ana-rodney-momcares-maternal-health-black-women

https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/fight-blight-baltimore-combat-vacancies-baltimore-city

Janet Glover-Kerkvliet on WYPR’s “On the Record,”

https://www.wypr.org/post/realities-long-term-unemployment

SIL Director Alex Riehm in Forbes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chakabooker/2019/01/21/how-to-spark-entrepreneurship-lessons-from-

innovation-hubs/

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS5

2019 IMPACT REPORT4

SIL received a record 109 applications 60% of SIL ventures are led by community members(who are not JHU students, staff or alums)

Post-application debriefings conducted4

32

Percentage of ventures

4 All applicants to SIL are welcome to meet with the review team to discuss their applications. This number reflects how many reached out to discuss their applications in more depth5 Raised by SIL cohort ventures from October 2018 – June 2019, self reported

ALUMNI UPDATESHIV GAGLANI (SIL 2013) AND

MEDICAL STARTUP OSMOSIS RAISED A $4 MILLION SERIES A

Based in Brewers Hill, Osmosis is improving medical education with its

personalized learning platform and illustrated videos.

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

2019 IMPACT REPORT

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

ARS MEDICA ars-medica.org

Ars Medica provides a space to engage a diverse community of doctors,

residents and medical students united by our devotion to medicine and

love of humanity. Our mission is to help each other become better

doctors.

OUR TEAM:

Our team includes Javier de la Maza, alum, Bloomberg School of

Public Health; Marielle Bugayong, alum, Bloomberg School of Public

Health; Taj Keshav, alum, Bloomberg School of Public Health; Jianyi

Nie, alum, Bloomberg School of Public Health.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

Our success is measured by the amount of doctors and medical students

that we reach and their level of engagement. If we can build a self-

sustaining community that nurtures compassion in medicine, we would

consider the project successful.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR TIME

WITH SIL?

We designed a memorable brand identity and launched our website

www.ars-medica.org. We launched our exclusive online platform to

provide a space in which doctors, residents and medical students

can share their stories and learn from each other’s experience.

Ars Medica was incorporated in the state of Maryland and the IRS

recently approved our application to become a 501(c)3 tax exempt

nonprofit organization.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION FACES?

Our team is now distributed across three different countries and our

biggest challenge is to coordinate our efforts to drive engagement and

grow the online community.

BALTIMORE FARM TO CLINIC baltimorefarmtoclinic.com

Baltimore Farm to Clinic provides healthy foods and nutrition education to

vulnerable individuals in underserved neighborhoods.

OUR TEAM:

Our team is composed of an internal medicine physician, a nurse

practitioner, a behavioral health specialist, a community health worker

and a medical assistant. We work in an intensive primary care

program at East Baltimore Medical Center and care for vulnerable

Medicaid patients who have complex medical conditions and

struggle with many social determinants of health. We provide

24/7 access to patients and in addition to primary care, provide

wrap-around services to support patients as much as possible.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

Our program improves access to healthy foods and reduces food

insecurity without costly infrastructure investments.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR

TIME WITH SIL?

During our time with SIL, we developed a strategy to begin collecting the

evidence needed to convince health insurers to provide funding for food.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION FACES?

As we grow, our next challenge will be transitioning from small grant

funding to a larger, more complex revenue stream.

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2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

2019 IMPACT REPORT

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

BALTIMORE JOB HUNTERS SUPPORT GROUP bjhsg.org

We assist older, long-term unemployed job seekers with the socioemotional

and psychological pain of mid-career job loss by providing counseling, coaching,

networking, information, referral, outreach and advocacy opportunities.

OUR TEAM:

My name is Janet Glover-Kerkvliet, and I am the director of BJHSG, which is a 100% volunteer-

run organization. I am a licensed therapist, a certified career development facilitator and holistic

narrative career professional.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

BJHSG brings a unique perspective to the long-term unemployment issue. We know from

almost eight years of experience that older (45+) workers need assistance with the

pain and grief of job loss, an understanding of economic and systemic factors and

the mindset and practical tools needed to move toward the next phase of their

working lives. We have touched the lives of more than 300 members, held 360

weekly meetings and provided more than 250 individual sessions. We estimate

that 180 jobs have been obtained by group members.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR TIME WITH SIL?

Formulating our business plan is my proudest accomplishment over these six months.

We will continue the BJHSG under the nonprofit Corner Community Center, providing

services free of charge and create a for-profit fee-for-service consultancy of mental health

and other professionals to provide comprehensive clinical, career and case management

services. I also learned valuable insights through the customer discovery process, including: there

are few therapists incorporating career development in their practices and few career counselors who

use any clinical techniques even if trained to do so; long term unemployed workers are uninformed

or reluctant to use public resources until is it too late; and more.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION FACES?

We are working to find a way to generate revenue to keep our services free of charge for the

unemployed. This would include forming a for-profit organization, which will be a unique

blend of clinical and career counseling, including workshops on preventing workplace

bullying, psychological mental health first aid and helping “failure to launch” millennials.

BE. VIRTUAL thebeorg.com

Be. Virtual is a youth-built virtual reality curriculum for social emotional

learning development.

OUR TEAM:

The Be. Org is primarily supported by founder and

executive director Tonee Lawson, who manages

day-to-day operations. She has a background in

youth development, program development, partnership

development and large event production. Over the last few

months, Be. has added more structure to their programs to

provide better results and measurable outcomes, secured more

fee for service arrangements and established new partnerships. Tonee

is great at leveraging community partnerships to drive program impact,

being resourceful, and developing creative and engaging programming for

youth.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

Be. provides social emotional learning development, enrichment

programming and college readiness support to youth of all ages. We

provide youth with the skills to be ready for college and the workplace.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR

TIME WITH SIL?

In the last six months, we have established a process for

development, completed the Be. Virtual prototype, piloted the

first group of youth through the VR development cohort and

validated our assumptions through customer discovery.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION

FACES?

Looking ahead, we will be working to secure funding to further develop the

product.

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2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

2019 IMPACT REPORT

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

HAPPY TEACHER REVOLUTION happyteacherrevolution.com

Happy Teacher Revolution is a Baltimore-born international movement to organize

and conduct support groups for teachers in the field of mental health and wellness

to increase teacher happiness, retention and professional sustainability.

OUR TEAM:

My name is Danna Thomas and I am a former Baltimore City Public Schools

educator now pursuing Happy Teacher Revolution (HTR) full-time. I launched

HTR because of my own personal journey with mental illness. As a spokesperson

for the Music for Mental Health Campaign and the National Alliance of Mental

Illness (NAMI) Maryland, I realized educators craved the opportunity to feel less alone

and to share in one another’s vulnerability and imperfections. When communities come

together, we find strength in one another and the inspiration to continue to make positive

change. I believe that in order to solve the teacher burnout and teacher turnover crisis, we must

come together as a community and revolutionize how we professionally support educators.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

According to research from the University of Missouri, 93 percent of teachers surveyed

experience high-levels of job related stress. That means 3.3 million stressed-out

teachers are influencing an estimated 70 million students every day. We support

the professional sustainability of educators and reduce teacher burnout. We

have trained nearly 100 “Revolutionaries” across the U.S. and the world. Our

Revolutionaries then facilitate free Happy Teacher Revolution meetings to

support nearly 1,200 educators in their own communities.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR TIME WITH

SIL?

I worked with Jade Shih and the MICA Center for Social Design to implement the

Human Centered Design process and have started to integrate components of

Human Centered Design into our Happy Teacher Revolution Certification Curriculum.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION FACES?

As I continue to expand and grow the Happy Teacher Revolution movement, I look

forward to scaling our professional development model and building a larger team to

meet the need worldwide.

FIGHT BLIGHT BMORE fightblightbmore.com

Fight Blight Bmore is an economic, environmental, and social justice initiative led by

the community and informed by data to address the issue of blight.

OUR TEAM:

My name is Nneka N’namdi and I am a Baltimore-based entrepreneur engaged

in conscious capitalism and community wellness work. As a member of

The Living Well team, I curate community space for artistic, economic and

social ventures and am skilled in creating healing spaces and teaching practical

ways of managing trauma. My study includes principles of trauma informed care

and I earned a master’s in management with a specialization in organizational

leadership. I have more than 15 years of experience in systems development, software

development and program management. I live with my two sons in Upton, one of the

Baltimore’s most-blighted neighborhoods and my reason to start Fight Blight Bmore.

Karima Gibson is the project coordinator for the YouthWorks effort. Gibson has spent 20

years of her career teaching in Baltimore City Public Schools. She volunteers more than 800

hours annually with students and their families, providing tutoring and life skills that are both

practical and beneficial. Gibson also is a resident of Baltimore City and both of her children

attended Baltimore City Public Schools. She holds a master’s in educational leadership

from Notre Dame of Maryland University (2005) and a bachelor’s degree in education

with a minor in psychology from The City University of New York (1997).

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

Informing over 1,000 people of the impact blight has on people and communities;

hiring eight youth workers (for full-time summer work at higher-than-minimum

wage); and un-blighting two properties to create the Hack Hub, a youth micro-

enterprise incubation and ideation space.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR TIME WITH SIL?

I am most proud of launching the Hack Hub, hosting the Hack-A-Thon and being a

YouthWorks site for summer 2019.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION FACES?

Identifying funding to hire two part-time positions and completing the development on the

beta version of our app.

1011

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

2019 IMPACT REPORT

MOMCARES therisingmomcares.com

MOMCares provides postpartum doula support to Black

Women with a NICU experience

OUR TEAM:

Ana Rodney is a doula, yoga instructor, Reiki

master and executive director of MOMCares.

Ana currently sits on the Women’s Commission

for Health Education and Equity and is the NARAL

Current Young Choice Advocate of the Year. Ana has

been able to grow MOMCares considerably since joining

SIL by adding a research associate, volunteer manager,

program manager and 10 volunteers. As an entrepreneur, Ana

has learned to delegate more of the work and share the vision with

those committed to help alongside her.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

The work of MOMCares creates community, supports mothers and

reduces stress. MOMCares seeks to impact the maternal death

rate in Maryland by creating and supporting systems that honor

mothers and deliver compassionate care to mothers moving

through their motherhood journey.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF

DURING YOUR TIME WITH SIL?

I am most proud of adding to my team to support

growth and increase capacity. My most important

accomplishment, however, is helping a mom find

housing or sitting with a mom as she advocates for

herself with providers and community workers.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION

FACES?

The next phase is scaling our organization now that we have the

human capacity to do so.

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

HEALTH 3D h3dprint.org

Health 3D creates 3D printed healthcare equipment for pediatric

patient education

OUR TEAM:

Seven biomedical engineers from Johns Hopkins who

are passionate about using our skills and interests to

directly impact clinicians and patients that they

serve.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR

OUR COMMUNITY?

We create 3D-printed medical play tools that help reduce

the anxiety and distress that children face in a hospital

environment. Our devices are customized, miniaturized models

of medical equipment that fit with existing dolls. They are used by

child life specialists at Johns Hopkins to help children visualize and

prepare for the procedure. This can be particularly helpful for children

who are cognitively impaired or who are undergoing treatment for

a long-term condition. We also impact the clinicians by saving

them time and money spent making makeshift medical play

equipment that may be unrepresentative and unreliable.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF

DURING YOUR TIME WITH SIL?

We are most proud of attending the annual child life

conference in Chicago, where we met over 50 child life

specialists. They validated the huge need for our devices

and made us realize the impact that our work could have in

the future.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION FACES?

Health 3D has incorporated and is in the process of setting up a

board. We are looking forward to setting up a group of trusted advisors

that will mark our transition toward a formal entity.

1213

ROSE askrose.com

Rose more effectively leverages and analyzes data to help

patients and their providers throughout the mental

health journey.

OUR TEAM:

Kavi Misri (CEO), Dr. Matthew Peters (Chief

Medical Officer), Dr. Atif Adam (Chief Scientific

Officer), and Charles Beebe (Chief Technology

Officer)

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR

COMMUNITY?

Address mental health stigma and enable access to mental

health care.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR

TIME WITH SIL?

We have developed a minimal viable product (MVP) and have been

working on planning, testing and evaluating the application. These

have included conducting over 70 interviews with stakeholders

throughout the customer discovery process to validate our

model and assess conceptions of mental health burden;

coping mechanisms; and current services used. We have

built an online crowdsourcing survey tool to train our

natural language processing (NLP) system to classify

individuals into the categories of depression, anxiety,

and trauma. Over this time, however, we are most

proud of building the Rose team.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION

FACES?

We are beginning the process of raising a seed fundraising

round and will use the funds to expand our team and refine our

product.

ROOTS & RAÍCES rootsraicesfestival.com

Roots & Raíces is a platform for artists, musicians and allies

to highlight, support and celebrate immigrants and their

contributions to the U.S. through the arts and civic action.

OUR TEAM:

My name is Valeria Fuentes and I am an artist and designer

based in Baltimore. I grew up here as an immigrant and

am blessed to surround myself with a supportive group of

creative individuals that make up my team.

WHAT IMPACT DOES YOUR WORK DELIVER FOR OUR

COMMUNITY?

Our work has not only provided a music and art platform for artists

and musicians to perform and present their work but also allows

them to speak on issues that relate to the immigrant experience here in

Baltimore.

WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF DURING YOUR

TIME WITH SIL?

This year, we focused on building out the structure and foundation

of the team and developed a strategic plan for our organization

in the next few years. I also focused on recruiting and training

members that make up our team. I am most proud of pushing

myself to accelerate the growth of the organization. This

program was the jolt I needed to develop an action plan to

for our team and activities.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG CHALLENGE YOUR

ORGANIZATION FACES?

Fundraising and board development. We took this

past year to really think about where we are headed as an

organization and will be moving forward as a collective.

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

2019 IMPACT REPORT

2018-19 COHORT VENTURE

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS14 15

IMPACT BOOTCAMPS 2018-19

During the 2018-19 program year, SIL continued our commitment to supporting early stage

innovators through our Impact Bootcamp. This event is a one-day, intensive training for people

looking to gain or enhance the skills essential for launching and leading a social venture.

Our goals with the Bootcamps are twofold:

1. To reach beyond our typical network of self-identified innovators. We want to reach more

community members from various backgrounds who want to create change but who may not

know how to take the first step.

2. To build a pipeline of applicants for our core program and other entrepreneur-supporting

programs in Baltimore. We want to help people at the earliest stages build their new ventures on

a solid foundation so they can start smart and avoid common mistakes and pitfalls. To do this, we

partnered with the Baltimore Corps’ Elevation Awards and OSI Baltimore Community Fellowships

to provide a fuller range of opportunities for our participants and invited additional community-

based organizations to give presentations on their work: Strong City Baltimore, MD Nonprofits,

The Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network, Impact Hub Baltimore, Moms as Entrepreneurs,

The Cube Cowork and Fusion Partnerships.

In addition to our flagship Baltimore-based Impact Bootcamp, we continued our bootcamps for JHU-

affiliates in Washington, hosted by the JHU School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and hosted

mini-bootcamps for several of our partners and friends.

FALL 2018 BOOTCAMP: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH

SPRING 2019 BOOTCAMP: SATURDAY, MARCH 24TH

2019 IMPACT REPORT

IMPACT+INNOVATION FORUM

O n April 30, SIL hosted the Impact+Innovation Forum – our annual

event showcasing ventures in the cohort. Venture leaders from

our 2018-19 Cohort shared the stories behind their inspiration

and innovation to an audience of 150 people, including community

leaders, donors and foundations, JHU administrators, JHU students and

friends and family.

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

SINCE THEIR INCEPTION, OUR BOOTCAMPS HAVE PROVIDED 498 STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH THE SKILLS, TOOLS AND CONNECTIONS TO SPARK

CHANGE IN BALTIMORE AND BEYOND

I loved the Social Innovation Lab

bootcamp. It was informative and packed

with helpful information that I can use to

build my social enterprise. I really loved

the diversity of the attendees and all the

different interests people brought to the

bootcamp.

– Tara

Inspiring and informative! No matter

where you are in your process of becoming

an organized entity for change or service,

you will be offered information and

knowledge that pushes your thinking about

how to achieve your vision.

– Robin

“”

“”

THE SIL 2018-2019 COHORT PRIZEThis year’s $25,000 Cohort Prize was provided by the Abell

Foundation. In support of The Social Innovation Lab and the Abell

Foundations’ shared interest to nurture entrepreneurial talent and

grow our local ecosystem of successful ventures, the prize was

created to help further accelerate high-potential ventures in the

cohort. Winners were selected by the cohort members themselves

based on the strength of their progress over the six-month cohort

period, their plan for future growth and their potential for impact.

The recipients included:

First prize, $15,000: Danna Thomas of Happy Teacher Revolution,

a Baltimore-born, international movement with the mission to

organize and conduct support groups for teachers to increase teacher

happiness, retention and professional sustainability. The prize will

give her access to working capital to conduct teacher training and

certifications across the U.S., including in the Baltimore area.

Second prize, $10,000: Nneka N’namdi of Fight Blight Bmore, an

economic, environmental and social justice initiative addressing the

issue of blight, led by the village and informed by the data. This will

enable her to hire youth workers over the summer, complete the

development of an app and operate the Hack Hub for youth projects

and civic engagement in West Baltimore.

1716

OUR TEAMS IN ACTION

During the 2018-19 program year, our alumni teams continued to make great progress, building on

their past successes. Hear from one of our program alums.

ALLYSA DITTMAR, THE CLEARMASKAllysa Dittmar (SIL 2018) won SIL’s $25,000 Cohort Prize at the conclusion of the 2017-18 program year.

2019 IMPACT REPORT

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB – CULTIVATING A WORLD OF EMERGING SOCIAL INNOVATORS

SPONSORS

Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, The Abell Foundation, T. Rowe Price Foundation, PNC Bank

MENTORS & COHORT SESSION SPEAKERS

Megan Wahler, Delshan Baker, John Brothers, Darius Graham, Danny Jacobs, Jamie McDonald, Eileen O’Rourke, Kunal Parikh, Randi Pupkin,

Shantell Roberts, Zeluis Teixeira

SOCIAL DESIGN FELLOWS

Jade Shih, Jess Sanders, with support from Lee Davis and Mike Weikert

JOHNS HOPKINS TECHNOLOGY VENTURES & FASTFORWARD

Christy Wyskiel, Brian Stansky, Kerrie Carden, Kevin Carter, Kara Fitzpatrick, Mary Howard, Marlene Moore, Liz Burger, Cindy Madden, Maddy

Stokes, Mark Bailey, Julie Simon, Dana Weisgerber, Danny Jacobs

18 19

What has the last year looked like for you since graduating from the Social Innovation Lab?

Shortly after the Social Innovation Lab, we

participated in the Emerging Technology Centers’ Accelerate

Baltimore program where we continued to receive valuable mentorship. We also participated in TrajectoryNext, an accelerator focused on healthcare sales hosted by Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, Betamore and UM Ventures. During the summer of 2018, we traveled all over the United States as part of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program, in which we received a grant of $25,000 to conduct over 500 stakeholder interviews with patients, providers and health care administrators to better understand the value the ClearMask could offer. In the fall, we experienced another series of wins from Salisbury University’s Shore Hatchery competition and OpenWorks’ EnterpRISE competition. In the beginning of 2019, we participated in StartUp Grind and Google for Startups’ global conference in Silicon

Valley. ClearMask was selected among 250 startups to attend the conference from a pool of 5,000 startup applicants and was selected into the top 50 “best of the best.” After the conference, Forbes selected ClearMask as one of the 19 innovative tech startups to watch! Our time in 2019 has been focused on manufacturing and preparing for FDA submission. In the meantime, we have filed our full patent application and trademarks and established approximately ten critical partnerships/pilots with leading hospitals and institutions in the United States.

Any specific accomplishments you’re especially proud of?

We’re most proud of having raised over $120,000 from different sources of funding without giving up equity of the company. We believe that our resourcefulness, discipline and friendships have allowed ClearMask to accomplish a lot with little capital in a short amount of time. Our lifeblood thus far has been giving back to the entrepreneur community through mentorship, skill-sharing and networking. We regularly give lectures, participate

on panels and mentor budding entrepreneurs/students in the local community. We believe that a rising tide lifts all boats and are proud of giving back to a community that has been so instrumental in our success.

What social impacts have you had, how have you measured them and what are your impact goals for the future?

Our ultimate goal is to make health care more human, patient-centered and accessible for underserved patient populations. We hope in the long-term to make the ClearMask available to all and are actively advocating for and educating about the communication and treatment needs of the populations who need it most. We envision a future where opaque surgical masks will be a distant memory, and transparent masks enabling clear communication and stronger human connection will be the new norm for every patient. If we are able to improve patients’ access in health care and public health through improved health outcomes , we will have succeeded.

What’s next for you? What are your company’s big goals looking ahead?

Our next biggest goals are to receive FDA approval, finalize our manufacturing and raise our seed round of fundraising.

You’re a member of a Social Innovation Lab cohort, but you have also participated in other regional innovation challenges. What has been your experience building your company in Baltimore?

Baltimore has a very vibrant startup community that is well positioned for medical devices/health care (and ed-tech and cybersecurity). The city has a very collaborative and open community, and not only are there countless accelerators and incubators, each with their own focus and strengths, there are great public and private institutions that provide important infrastructure, partnership opportunities and intellectual capital and talent that are critical for developing any kind of venture. Apart from these organizations, there is a camaraderie among startup founders, both accomplished and new, that creates a foundation of peer support and collaboration that is invaluable for entrepreneurs.

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contact Maddy Stokes at mstokes@jhu.edu

IMPACT REPORT ARCHIVES

2016: https://issuu.com/siljhu/docs/2016_sil_impact_report

2017: https://issuu.com/siljhu/docs/2017_sil_impact_report

2018: https://bit.ly/2P4ghly

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@SIL_Baltimore

Social Innovation Lab